Friends of Salvador informed us that Salvador has been admitted to a hospital in Barrancabermeja in January 2014, suffering from tuberculosis. Due to the tuberculosis, he is now paralysed on the left side. On top of all this his medical insurance ran out a few days ago, and initially the health insurance provider EPS SaludCoop refused to readmit him because he is “a very ill patient”. On top of struggling for his health, he also had to struggle to be readmitted into the health insurance system – with success on 7 February 2014.

Salvador has been an activist for conscientious objection, antimilitarism, nonviolence, and lgbt rights for many years, and this in the extreme violent environment of the petrol town of Barrancabermeja, where paramilitaries exert social control and create a climate of fear using death threats. Salvador himself as part of the group Quinto Mandamiento has been the target of such death threats (see for example: http://www.wri-irg.org/node/14296).

I personally know Salvador since 2007, and have met him at several visits to Barrancabermeja, the last time in November 2012. I was always impressed by his energy, his optimism, and he always had a smile on his face, in spite of the difficult circumstances he was living and struggling in.

Today, Salvador is fighting a different struggle, a struggle for his health. And in this struggle too he needs our support – our moral support, but also our financial support.

His friends in Colombia are presently working on:

getting him transferred from Barrancabermeja to Bucaramanga or Bogota, where he would be able to receive better treatment;

clarifying which part of his treatment will be paid for pay the EPS SaludCoop and which not,

getting more medical advice.

All this will cost money – and especially his treatment. Right now, the most urgent issue is his transfer to another city where he can receive better treatment and where his health status can be stablised.

We opened a bank account for donations in support of Salvador.

In Spain:

Account name: Andreas Speck, 41003 Sevilla

Account number: 1491 0001 23 2096839929

Bank: Triodos Bank

International:

Account name: Andreas Speck

IBAN: ES84 1491 0001 2320 9683 9929

BIC/SWIFT: TRIOESMMXXX

Triodos Bank

Las Rozas

28232 Madrid

Spain

Please feel free to let us know if and how much you can give to support Salvador as soon as possible, so that we can do a transfer as soon as possible.

Feel free to contact me for any questions, or for messages of support: